About the Author
Todd Medema is the author of How To Surf A Hurricane, a heist thriller showing that stories about climate change and adaptation can be fun and hopeful. He wrote it because he believes the future doesn't have to be a dystopia, and he got tired of only reading stories of doom and gloom.
Todd studied Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He worked on self-driving cars and board games before discovering a passion for clean energy. He spent four years working on grid-scale battery storage and now offers Product Management consulting to clean energy companies.
Todd spends his free time playing games, climbing rocks, and gleefully riding his electric bike everywhere. He is currently working on expanding the Hurricane universe.
You can contact Todd at toddmedema (at) gmail (dot) com
About Solarpunk
Solarpunk is an emerging movement that envisions a regenerative future interconnected with community and nature.
Inspirations
Here are some of the works that inspired How to Surf a Hurricane, solarpunk and otherwise:
Read
- The Monk & Robot series—a cozy read about a future of peace and nature
- Termination Shock—a globe-spanning eco-thriller
- New York 2140—exploring how New York will adapt
- When You Had Power—a whodunnit mystery centered on the race to net zero
- Dune—a SciFi classic on a desert planet
- The Serviceberry—a solarpunk short story of abundance
- Walkaway—what if we could walk away from Capitalism?
- A Half-Built Garden—a solarpunk story of interspecies cooperation
- The Dispossessed—exploring anarchy (not "chaos" rather "no kings")
- The Martian—a story of survival and adaptability
- The Great Train Robbery—a classic heist
- Make It Yourself—empowering us to meet our own needs
- Grist Climate Fiction—amazing collection of climate fiction
Watch
- How to Blow Up a Pipeline—the movie that inspired the book's name
- Avatar—what if we actually listened to nature?
- Flow—an adorable story of survival and frienship
- The Wild Robot—exploring technology as a way to reconnect with nature
- Zootopia—a world where everyone is allowed to be their best self
- Free Guy—let's break free of feeling like we're NPCs in someone else's story
- Ocean's Eleven—a classic heist
Play
- Wingspan—a board game about building ecosystems
- Daybreak—a board game about stopping the climate crisis
- Electrify—my web game about the electric grid
- Timberborn—a beaver-themed city builder focused on natural cycles
- Stardew Valley—the classic farming simulator video game
- Terra Nil—exploring rebuilding
- Solarpunk Pen Pals—a cozy storytelling game for 2+ people
- Disclaimer: The affiliate links above fund the creation of solarpunk content.
